Andre Gide said: "You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to leave the shore." And he was right.
Nothing can be achieved without courage and openness. We all want to be successful, but when it comes to taking risks, venturing into new territory, unexplored by us or, worse, by others, most of us retreat behind trivial excuses.
Who would have ever thought that you could listen to music on your mobile phone or have a watch that displays your received SMS messages?
Only those who understand the advantages of an innovative culture in a company can achieve such results. Supporting innovation, openness, and boldness can bring a great plus to any company and any activity. And this support can only come from the top, from management and those responsible. They can either encourage creativity and ingenuity, just as they can restrict and even eliminate it.
The most common arguments used in favor of staying on the beaten path are:
1. No, until now we have done it this way and it worked very well. Why change now?
2. It is impossible!
3. Our clients will not like it.
4. No, it is not logical at all.
5. It is way too risky.
6. The boss will never want us to do it that way.
Sound familiar? We are sure it does. That is why we decided to offer you some ideas on how we can encourage creativity and create an innovative culture in the company where we work.
1. Listen! The people around us always offer new ideas, whether intentionally or not. Everyone faces problems, everyone has at some point thought that it would be useful if there was something that could solve a specific problem. Innovations have arisen from the search for solutions to specific problems.
2. Collaborate with diverse and varied sources. Whether it is external collaborators, universities, laboratories, clients, they all have something to offer if you are open and accept their ideas and points of view.
3. Limit the management structure that must approve innovation. The longer the chain, the lower the chances that the initial idea will be understood and appreciated at its original value. In other words, in the chain of emails and meetings, it is very possible that information is distorted and misunderstood, and what seemed like a good idea may no longer even be acceptable. Where managerial links cannot be removed, increased employee independence can be encouraged.
4. Be open to failure. Accepting risk also means accepting failure. Not all ideas lead to a good result, just as not all failures lead to disaster. Good things have come from mistakes, such as the discovery of penicillin or microwaves.
An innovative culture in an organization means creating an environment where people feel they can think freely, have ideas and opinions, and that expressing themselves is not wrong. Both people and the organization must accept that the world has changed, that everything changes and transforms, and that closing oneself off in a tower is no longer a solution in today’s economic environment.
If you liked the article, you might also be interested in:
- 5 tips to gain an audience on LinkedIn for your business or
- Top 20 most visited sites by Romanians
